Coronary heart disease, cor pulmonale, acute cere-bral thrombosis, acute icteric hepatitis, mycotic dermatitis, acute traumatic sepsis and dermatitis.
Dan Shen, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae Taste: bitter
Dosage: 6–18 g
Temperature: slightly cold
Channel/Organ action: Heart, Liver
Traditionally used in China to improve Blood cir-culation and to eliminate Blood stasis, especially in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea, amenorrhoea, abdominal masses caused by Blood stagnation, carbuncles and abscesses; it can also be used as a calming medicinal. Nowadays, it is often used in coronary heart disease.
New pharmacological research
Blood: improves microcirculation, has an anti-sclerotic effect and is used against thrombocyte aggregation.
Heart: increases heart function and coronary vessel circulation capacity.
Further actions: anti-inflammatory, antimycotic, anticarcinogenic, prevents liver damage, ischemic kidney damage, lung damage, anti-ulcerative, prevents endotoxin-induced shock, captures free radicals, has an oestrogenic action, protects from bronchial asthma and has a calming effect.
New clinical usage
Coronary heart disease, bacterial myocarditis in children, high blood viscosity, haemorrhoids, apo-plexy, hepatitis, retinal vein thrombosis, whooping cough, nephritis, diabetes, haemorrhagic fever, malignant lymphomas and scleroderma.
Dang Gui, Radix Angelicae Sinensis (traditionally in the Blood tonifying group) Taste: sweet, pungent
Dosage: 6–15 g Temperature: warm
Channel/Organ action: Lung, Heart, Spleen It is used as:
1. A blood tonifying and circulation improving medicinal in menstrual disorders and
2. An emollient and laxative in chronic constipa-tion in old age.
New pharmacological research
Blood: promotes haematopoiesis, especially erythropoiesis, has an antithrombotic action and prevents thrombocyte aggregation, lowers blood lipid concentration and increases microcirculation.
Heart: has an anti-ischemic and anti-arrhythmic action and lowers blood pressure.
Immune system: increases cellular and humoral immune function.
Further actions: has a relaxing action and allevi-ates pain in the smooth musculature of the uterus; has an antibacterial action on many dif-ferent types of bacteria.
New clinical usage
Ischemic cerebral apoplexy, thrombophlebitis, cardiac arrhythmias, infantile pneumonia, men-strual disorders, uterus prolapse, chronic pelvic inflammation, cor pulmonale, hepatitis, herpes zoster.
Hong Jing Tian or Gao Shan Hong Jing Tian, Herba Rhodiolae Sachaliensis
(in most cases, this is traditionally categorised in the Yang tonic group)
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Blood stasis related medicinals, their application 57
Taste: sweet, astringent Dosage: 9–15 g
Temperature: neutral
Channel/Organ action: Liver, Spleen
Traditionally used in China to invigorate and nourish the Blood and strongly tonify Kidney Yang.
Used in old age weakness as well as in cardiac insufficiency, anaemia, dizziness due to low blood pressure and other weaknesses, where Hong Jing Tian has a strengthening and tonifying effect.
Less effective on the blood vessels, but more invigorating is the bitter and cold medicinal Xia Ye Hong Jing Tian, Radix et Rhizoma Rhodiolae Kirilowii, which is used more for ischemic heart disease. It acts on the Lung channel, cools Heat/toxins, has an analgetic effect in injuries and stops bleeding.
New pharmacological research
CNS: similar to Ginseng, Hong Jing Tian is a strong adaptogen, reduces stress, relaxes and counter-acts the effects of tiredness.
Blood: blood pressure as well as blood sugar levels are regulated in both directions; it has an antioxidative effect on blood lipids.
Heart: strengthens heart contractility and reduces ischemic damage.
Immune system: Hong Jing Tian has anti-inflammatory, febrifugal and virostatic action.
Further actions: reduces the effects of radiation injuries and, depending on the dosage, has a contractile or relaxing effect on smooth muscu-lature of the small intestine.
New clinical usage
Used in heart insufficiency in old age, reduced mental and physical capacity, anaemia, lung tuberculosis, diabetes, hypotension and in impaired mental activity.
Ji Xue Teng, Caulis Spatholobi Taste: bitter
Dosage: 9–15 g
Temperature: slightly cold
Channel/Organ action: Liver, Kidney
Traditionally used in China to strengthen Blood circulation and remove obstructions from the
channels and smaller vessels (Luo vessels). It is a Blood nourishing medicinal, especially for the treatment of abnormal menstruation caused by Blood deficiency and Blood stasis. Also used for inflammation of peripheral vessels, or thrombosis and numbness of the body and limbs. It is also effective in leukopenia caused by radiotherapy.
New pharmacological research
Blood: Ji Xue Teng promotes haematopoiesis (erythrocytes, thrombocytes, interleukin-2 and haemoglobin), counteracts blood clotting and lowers blood lipid levels.
Heart: reduces oxygen consumption of the heart muscle and increases heart rate.
Further actions: increases phosphate metabolism of the kidneys and uterus and has a calming action.
New clinical usage
Used in insufficiency of thrombocytes and in mammary gland hyperplasia.
Mu Dan Pi, Cortex Moutan Radicis
(traditionally in the group of cooling/Heat clear-ing medicinals)
Taste: bitter Dosage: 6–12 g
Temperature: slightly cold
Channel/Organ action: Heart, Liver, Kidneys It is used:
1. as a medicinal to cool Blood-Heat and for the treatment of bleeding together with fever, and 2. to improve circulation and eliminate Blood stasis in cases of appendicitis, furuncles, car-buncles and amenorrhoea.
New pharmacological research
Heart: lowers blood pressure, prevents arrhyth-mia and ischearrhyth-mia.
Blood: has an antisclerotic action and prevents thrombosis and haemorrhaging in the capillaries.
Further actions: has a spasmolytic effect in inflam-mation and is also calming, febrifugal, diuretic, antibacterial and contraceptive.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION 58
New clinical usage
Prevents bruising due to insufficient thrombo-cytes; used in urticaria, pruritus, fever due to infections (appendicitis, cholecystitis pneumonia, nephritis and many more), hypertension, allergic rhinitis, amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoea.
Shan Zha, Fructus Crataegi, Hawthorn Fruit (traditionally in the group of digestion-improving medicinals)
Taste: sour, sweet Dosage: 9–15–30 g
Temperature: slightly warm
Channel/Organ action: Spleen, Stomach, Kidneys Traditionally used in China to improve the diges-tion of fats and meats, it is often added to food. It is also used to alleviate the feeling of fullness after a heavy meal or to alleviate pain in the chest or abdomen and invigorate the Blood, but mainly for the treatment of stagnated food and digestive problems, diarrhoea and pain in the chest and abdomen.
New pharmacological research
Blood: significantly lowers blood lipids and blood pressure.
Heart: increases blood flow and amount of blood in the cardiac muscle and protects from the dam-aging effects of ischemia and hypoglycaemia.
Further actions: has an antioxidative effect, streng-thens the immune system (t-lymphocytes) and is antibacterial.
New clinical usage
Hyperlipidaemia, hypertension, CHD, cardiac arrhythmias, acute viral hepatitis, infectious colitis, bacterial enteritis, digestive disorders, inflammations in the kidneys and renal pelvis.
Sheng Di, Sheng Di Huang, Radix Rehmannia (traditionally in the Blood cooling group) Taste: bitter
Dosage: 6–30 g
Temperature: slightly cold
Channel/Organ action: Heart, Liver, Kidney
The fresh roots are used to treat thirst, exanthemas and bleeding caused by pathogenic Heat. The dry root (Gan Di Huang) has a similar effect and is also used as a tonic in Qi-deficiency.
New pharmacological research
Blood: lowers blood sugar, stops bleeding and increases t-lymphocyte formation.
Heart: strengthens contractility.
Further actions: increases the plasma cAMP peak, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hepatoprotec-tive (protects the liver from toxic damage), mild laxative and diuretic, increases resistance against lack of oxygen and alleviates radiation damage in the case of exposure to radioactive radiation.
New clinical usage
CHD, angina pectoris, myocarditis, hypertension apoplexy, diabetes, anaphylactic shock, haemor-rhages, hepatitis, neurodermatitis, measles, thick-ening of the oesophageal epithelium, retinary phlebitis, acute otitis media, tonsillitis, externally for all kinds of ulcers, protects from free radicals.
Wa Leng Zi, Concha Arcae
(traditionally also allocated to the Phlegm-transforming medicinals)
Taste: salty, sweet Dosage: 9–18 g Temperature: neutral
Channel/Organ action: Liver, Spleen
Traditionally used in China to invigorate the Blood, transform Phlegm and treat nodules and abdominal masses (Zheng and Jia). Also for stomach pain with sour regurgitation and chronic epigastric pain.
New pharmacological research
This type and related bivalve molluscs produce acetylcholine, active alkaline phosphatase and other enzymes in the human body. Moreover, they contain organic calcium amongst other minerals and trace elements.
Stomach: Wa Leng Zi and its heat-processed form Duan Wa Leng Zi are used successfully in China together with Gan Cao (Glycyrrhiza) to treat Ch007-F10185.qxd 26/8/06 6:33 PM Page 58
Blood stasis related medicinals, their application 59
gastric and duodenal ulcers. Depending on the study, success rates lie between 86 and 92%.
Further actions: used in late stages of infestations with liver flukes (Fasciola hepatica) and other blood sucking parasites related to hepatomegaly or splenomegaly. Both organs regain their orig-inal size in 80–93% of studies conducted.
New clinical usage
In gastric and duodenal ulcers, liver and spleen enlargement caused by liver flukes and other parasites.
Yue Ji Hua, Flos Rosae Chinensis Taste: sweet
Dosage: 6–12 g Temperature: warm
Channel/Organ action: Liver
Traditionally used in China to invigorate the Blood, regulate the menses and reduce swelling. It is also helpful in Liver Qi stagnation of emotional cause, amenorrhoea, abdominal pain and feeling of pressure in the lower abdomen, ulcerative swellings and nodules before ulceration. The Chinese tea rose (Yue Ji Hua) is often replaced with the flower buds of the generic rose, although this contains completely different substances.
New pharmacological research
Heart: The essential oils of the tea rose, taken daily as a tea, improve and stabilize CHD and reduce the number of attacks.
New clinical usage
In CHD, liver cirrhosis and all types of menstrual disorders.
GROUP II: 27 BLOOD MOVING